Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
As per the recent order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of M. Ajit Kumar as the next Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
The announcement has been made just two days ahead of the Union Budget, which is to be presented on 1st February 2020. M. Ajit Kumar is a 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service Officer, who is presently a member of CBIC. Pranab Kumar Das was the previous Chairman of CBIC.

Notes:
The Antonov An-32 of the Indian Air Force recently took-off from the Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh. The aircraft was powered with a 10% blend of Indian bio-jet fuel.
This is the first time that both engines of the aircraft were powered by the indigenous bio-jet fuel. The bio-fuel is produced from the tree borne oils, grown and acquired from the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh. The aircraft was initially flight tested at Chandigarh Air Base before undertaking the operational flight to Leh.

Notes:
Rubigula, the Flame-throated Bulbul is the official state bird of Goa. The bird, also known as Ruby-throated yellow bulbul, has been named as the official mascot for the 2020 National Games.
Goa is set to play host to the 36th edition of the National Games from 20th October to 4th November, 2020 in 37 sports disciplines across 24 venues. In a ceremony recently held, Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant and Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju unveiled the state bird as the mascot.

Notes:
L&T MBDA Missile Systems (LTMMSL) has recently set up a missile integration facility at Coimbatore city in the state of Tamil Nadu. LTMMSL is a joint venture between the engineering and construction firm Larsen &Toubro and the European defence company MBDA.
The 16,000 sq.m-inert integration facility is set up in a Special Economic Zone and will manufacture weapon systems to domestic and global markets. It also has finer equipment for testing the Missile Subsystems and weapon launch systems. This project is a part of the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor.

Notes:
World Cancer Day is organized by the Union for International Cancer Control and celebrated every year on February 4, from 2000. This year the theme of the campaign is ‘I am and I will’.
The World Cancer Day campaign was first created in the year 2000, and this year’s is the 20th edition of the day. It is observed to create awareness about the disease across the world and to improve individual and government action. The campaign aims at reducing the number of premature deaths from cancer and noncommunicable diseases by one third by 2030.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation recently released a report on the World Cancer Day, February 4. It has warned that cancer cases would rise by 81 percent in low and middle-income countries by the year 2040, due to lack of investment in prevention and medical care. By 2040, overall cancer cases in the world would rise by 60 percent.
The report also stated that an investment of $ 25 billion would be required for saving 7 million lives globally from cancer. The report asked to tackle the inequality in investment between rich and poor countries. It also revealed that tobacco use was responsible for 25 percent of cancer deaths.

Notes:
Leading Indian fin-tech start-up company Paytm has recently launched a point-of-sale (POS) device for smaller merchants. The device would accept payments through cash, Paytm wallet, debit and credit cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) apps.
It is an android-based all-in-one device, which will help the smaller merchants, road-side shop-keepers in handling digital money. Good and Services Tax (GST) compliant bills can also be generated through the ‘Paytm for Business’ app. The device was launched jointly by the founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

Notes:
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), the public transporter of Delhi, has been conferred with the Road Safety Award 2018-19 in the urban category for the lowest rate of accidents.
The Director of DTC received the award from the Union Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. The award was presented during the 3rd Edition of International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation (ICEPTI) 2020, which was organised at New Delhi. The award carries a trophy and a cheque of Rs. 1 Lakh.

Notes:
A German cybersecurity firm called Greenbone Sustainable Resilience recently published a report on medical data leaks. It revealed that the medical details of more than 120 million Indian patients have been leaked and made available on the Internet.
The state of Maharashtra is placed at the top of the list of states that are affected by the data leak, followed by Karnataka and West Bengal. It also classifies countries in three categories of good, bad and ugly, based on the action taken by the governments after its first report was released. India is placed second in the ugly category.

Notes:
The United States recently launched the International Religious Freedom Alliance, which is aimed at protecting and preserving religious freedom across the world.
The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the formal launch of the alliance. As many as 27 countries have joined the alliance and the prominent countries among them are Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Greece. He also announced that the next ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom will be hosted by Poland in Warsaw, in July 2020.